Who will break the 7 different Slam champions in a row streak, at the US Open 2012?

Or will there be yet another new champion?

KIM CLIJSTERS: Hasn't played much since her last GS win at the AO '11. After injuries, she reached SFs this year at the AO, skipped the clay season, and was dispatched by Kerber in the Wimbledon 4R only winning 2 games. Even though, she will arrive this year at the US Open with a 21-match winning streak at the said Slam. (And it'll be the last Major of her career).

NA LI: As we all know, she hasn't been able to play like a top ten since her FO win last year. However, she's got to the 4R at both AO and RG. She's out of the top 10 now, but you never know with Na.

PETRA KVITOVA: After winning Wimbledon last year, even though she lost at the 1R at the USO, she went on to win the YEC and Fed Cup. This year, she reached SF at the AO and RG (losing both times to Sharapova) and in the QFs as a defending champion to Williams. She hasnt really shown her form from 2011 this year, and she will be looking to progress further than the 4R in the US Open for the first time in her career.

SAM STOSUR: Will arrive at New York as the defending champion, after having beaten Serena last year for the championship. She's had two shock losses at the Slams (1R AO vs Cirstea, 2R Wimbledon vs Rus), but she also has reached SF at the French. Nobody really knows how she will find the task of defending her title.

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Since winning the Australian Open this year, she has been arguably the most dominating player. Went on an amazing streak after her first Slam (winning a Premier 5 and a Premier Mandatory back-to-back) and now reaching another SF at Wimbledon. She might get to the US Open as the No.1 seed (time will tell), but like Kvitova, she'll also be trying to get further than the 4R at New York for the first time.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Has been the most consistent this year, winning RG and completing her Career Slam, winning Stuttgart and Rome, reaching the finals at the AO, Indian Wells and Miami. She's a former USO champion, but she hasn't got further than a 4R ever since then (suffering shock losses to Radwanska, Oudin, Wozniacki and Pennetta).

SERENA WILLIAMS: As the local player and a 3-times champion here, nobody wants to meet Serena. Especially since she comes fresh from winning her 14th Slam title at Wimbledon this year. However, after going on an 18-match winning streak, only to be shocked by Stosur. So, we'll see. It looks like she is doing better at the Slams when she's not the overall favourite.

THE ONES LOOKING TO CONTINUE THE STREAK (AND GET TO 8 DIFFERENT SLAM CHAMPIONS IN A ROW!):

VENUS WILLIAMS: After being diagnosed with Sjorgren's(?) Syndrome, she has been trying to make all the adjustments to get back into form. Even though she lost at the 2R in RG and at the 1R at Wimbledon, she has got to the Miami QFs (beating Kvitova along the way) and to the Rome QF. It's up to Venus how she's going to fare.

AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Now the new No.2, with 3 titles already this year, and having already reached a Slam final, she'll be more of a threat now. However, she does not have a good record at the US Open, never further than the 4R in 6 attempts

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: A year ago, she went to New York as the No.1 seed. This year she's fallen of the Top 5, and presumably she won't be a top 8 seed if things keep going wrong for her. However, she's reached at least the SFs in her last 3 participations at the Open.

ANGELIQUE KERBER: The German has had the best year of her career so far. She's just reached a Wimbledon semi, and she has already got to the SFs at the USO last year in a surprise run.

Re: Who will break the 7 different Slam champions in a row streak, at the US Open 201

Serena and Clisjters are the favorites right now based on their overall records there. Sharapova, Vika and Aga really have not done anything at the US Open in the last few years. However that could change.

Re: Who will break the 7 different Slam champions in a row streak, at the US Open 201

Clijsters - She's a pro at bullshitting her way to hardcourt wins because of movement and ability to transfer defense to offense. If she's actually playing well she's got as good a shot as anyone.

Li - Even with the pressure of being the reigning FO champion gone she still did nothing at Wimbledon, a surface that should suit her game. I'm not expecting a whole lot at the Open.

Kvitova - She is seemingly allergic to US hardcourts, but she should do better than last year. Even if she doesn't improve her fitness between now and August she should still get to the fourth round or the quarters. Plus, the draw gods have been relatively kind to her this year in slams.

Stosur - So un-clutch in pressure-packed moments it's astounding. She won her shock slam here last year, but I'd even be more shocked if she repeated. She was the clear cut underdog in last year's final and that's why she was able to play so freely. It'll be totally different this time around, and this title defense has first week upset written all over it.

Azarenka - She's never been passed the fourth round, but I still like her chances here. The surface rewards everything she does well, and something tells me she's gonna build on her strong Wimbledon and go on a serious tear this summer.

Sharapova - She's almost become a completely different player post-surgery. When she won the title in 06 she was one of the best fast-court players around, but these days she plays much better on slower courts. At the Open she will run the risk of being outhit (like she was by Lisicki at Wimbledon) and the windy Arthur Ashe court will really hurt her serve. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I don't see her winning.

Serena - She'll be the favorite for me until she loses.

I think the streak ends at the Open, and I'm (prematurely) picking Azarenka and Serena as the players to beat there.

Re: Who will break the 7 different Slam champions in a row streak, at the US Open 201

I think Azarenka deserves to be called the favourite at this point. It's easy to forget just how good she looked on hardcourts at the beginning of the year. Even though her US Open record looks bad on paper, I wouldn't read too much into that - she has got relatively unlucky there (the fainting in 2010, drawing Serena early last year - the only real head-scratcher is her loss to Schiavone in '09).

Clijsters if she can even refind the form she had at the Australian Open this year, will be very tough to beat in New York which suits her game to a tee. I have to admit though that her play on grass has got me really doubtful - hopefully though, as the USO will be her last tournament, she'll be willing to throw off the shackles and move at full-pelt and risk some injuries (as they won't really matter seeing as she'll never be playing again after that anyway), and with the crowd behind her more than ever, it's conceivable that she could go all the way one last time.

Serena, obviously a possibility, but pretty unlikely. Her serve just isn't going to be rewarded quite as much as on grass, and let's face it, her ground game really didn't look great at any point this tournament. I'm not sure I really buy the argument that her mental problems will have gone because the "pressure" will be off just because of today's win - that's typically not how it works with players who've past 30, they typically just get more and more headcasey with every year that passes.

I really do have a good feeling about Sharapova's chances - I really don't accept the argument that she's only suited to slow courts - grass is a different issue because of the low bounce which she just hasn't been able to get down well enough for ever since 2006, but I don't think quickness of a surface is an issue for her as long as it bounces high enough like at the US Open. The wind is a more relevant issue for her I think, but there's been encouraging signs that her serve is holding up well in wind this year, esp at RG. With that said, I understand her piss-poor recent record at the USO will stop her from being seen as THE favourite by many people, but personally I think she's got a pretty good shot.

Although I've been tirelessly battling the TF belief that Kvitova will never amount to anything on "American hardcourts", she's clearly not going to go all the way THIS YEAR if she couldn't do it on grass. Hopefully just a QF there and some more solid results this season to give her some sense of confidence going into the offseason, when she can start working hard and maybe finally start fulfilling her potential (on hardcourts and grass) next year.

Stosur.... I have no idea anymore. I don't necessarily buy into the idea that she's a claycourt specialist and that her US Open title was a complete fluke, because I do think the courts there are a fairly good fit for her (it's not really the speed of the surface that matters with Stosur, it's the bounce - the Australian Open, even though it's slower than the USO, has a lower bounce and doesn't receieve the spin from her forehand as well as the USO does), but mentally I still haven't really figured her out. I don't necessarily agree with the predictions that she's going to flame out early, but equally it's hard to see her going all the way, as for that happen she would need to avoid her many nightmare match-ups and/or produce a performance as utterly inspired as in the final last year, which seems fairly unlikely.

Li.... She seems mentally to have no belief left whatsoever. The Australian Open is probably her only chance of ever getting another Slam final/win, it's not happening here.

For me, I think this "streak" of different champions will be broken because it's really hard to see a winner outside of that 7 (or, rather, out of the 5, with Stosur and Li not really included), but, this is the WTA, so....